Netflix, Zack Snyder, & Evil Genius Games: When Worldbuilding Licensing Wrong
I'm a game developer and worldbuilder. I've been doing game development professionally for 27 years. And worldbuilding seriously since high school while reading the collected works of JRR Tolkien, HP Lovecraft, and others. As an RPG game master, I was building my own worlds (in a Dungeons & Dragons fantasy style) using what I learned from Tolkien, Lovecraft, Dunsany, Derleth, Bierce, Howard, Gygax, Lee & Kirby, long before getting into game development professionally. Worldbuilding is serious structural work and can be central to IP creation. It looks like Zack Snyder and Netflix ceded some amount of worldbuilding over to Evil Genius Games, then realized that, and tried to take that back...clumsily.
Take a read through the coverage below of the lawsuit from Evil Genius Games suing Netflix over the Zack Snyder film Rebel Moon. This is a complex entertainment IP issue. Here are some thoughts for context. Zack Snyder probably created a world without much detail. It is plausible (but unknown) that he and Netflix contracted Evil Genius Games to fill out that world, just based on pure historical context. It is also plausible that Netflix and Zack were surprised and delighted in what was created, that Zack started using the material, and Netflix decided to own it. That's likeliest.
Evil Genius Games is a small RPG and Board game developer. This is them. Nice folks, diverse, creative, lots of writers, editors, designers, and support. Staffed how you'd expect to see an indie boardgame and RPG outfit.
Netflix could have just PAID them for the work, instead of terminating them and trying to get them to forfeit the creative work. I'm really unimpressed with Netflix here. It is going to be really interesting to follow this lawsuit. Netflix should (probably) not have terminated Evil Genius Games (strategically), as they opened up a can of worms that could have been avoided easily through cooperation, and if need be, simple purchase.
Netflix is a corporation that really likes to own any IP (if they can) that they are going to feature on their network. Their deals with unknown creators are structured as work for hire. Evidence Squid Games. Go read the LA Times article on Netflix taking the Squid Games IP as work for hire and leaving the Korean creator with nothing. This is pretty much Netflix's modus operandi for everything they put out in Korea. Netflix in international markets is all about taking IP that isn't pre-existing. There is a history of this. Read:
“Squid Game” increased the value of Netflix by an estimated $900 million. It also made South Korean writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk famous — but not rich. In his contract, he had forfeited all intellectual property rights and received no residuals."
"Netflix has been on a tear with Korean shows in the last few years, so I wrote about why and how they've been able to buy so much high-performing content for so cheap"
"Netflix turns to South Korean writers and crews as Hollywood strikes. But they feel exploited too"
So that's some context for Netflix and IP creation
Now Zack Snyder is creative in visuals and motion, but not in worldbuilding. This is painfully obvious. By all accounts, Zack Snyder is a good person, good team builder, good film project leader, and good director, who people like to work with. He casts and builds diverse teams, and respects the hell out of everyone. He creates a safe set (are you taking notes Joss Whedon?). And people want to work with Zack again. He sounds like a fantastic guy. But he's not a worldbuilder.
What Zack does not do is create depth in writing, complex characterization, names that aren't simplistic, nor imaginative scenarios that are not derivative. Zack's best work is adaptions and derivations. And I can say that having seen all of his films. I know his work:
When Lucasfilm rejected Zack Snyder's Star Wars pitch, it is unsurprising that Snyder then had an empty world devoid of places, names, people, backstories. That's not his thing. Zack Snyder has a love/hate relationship with comics because he doesn't want to pay attention to half (or most) of comic continuity and backstory for consistency, but he does want to make use of the rich details to give his movies some meaning. Want examples? Compare Sucker Punch which is basically one extended music video to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is tonally and consistently wrong but at least has details of worldbuilding.
Compare Snyder's Dawn of the Dead that has literally none of the depth nor subtext of Romero's Dawn of the Dead with Snyder's Watchmen adaptation with Snyder's 300 adaption. Snyder's took out all the brilliant social commentary in Dawn of the Dead and replaced in with fast zombies and great action sequences. Zack Snyder came out of music videos. He's the master of slow motion action sequences. The film adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 is still his best adaptation because it is adaptation of action storyboards with Miller's incredible visual language. Meanwhile his Watchmen adaptation (that Alan Moore has disavowed) lost 90% of its meaning because Snyder couldn't express the meaning visually.
Snyder doesn't worldbuild. He cherry-picks. His most original work, Sucker Punch is trying to be a parable but has character named: Babydoll Sweet Pea, Blondie, Rocket, Blue Jones, Wise Man The Cook, Stepfather, Mayor, and Big Boss Thug. This for a dream/fantasy world. A wordsmith, Zack Snyder is not. In the end there's a simplicity to his 'storytelling' where he mostly wants to focus on his action sequences with a mishmash of 'story' that gives motivation for each next sequence. So without Star Wars, is it entirely unsurprising that he had generic references like 'Alien 1' and 'Planet 2', etc. Zack needs a backstory to half use and half ignore. It looks like he found that in the contracted work from Evil Genius Games.
Could he have made Rebel Moon without their backstory? Probably yes. Did he likely ignore 90% of what Evil Genius wrote? Probably yes. But, Netflix probably saw the depth of worldbuilding and decide to seize it rather than buy it. Now that is supposition. We'll see what comes out in the wash of the legal case.
Zack Snyder no doubt assembled a crack creative team. They had years of pre-production. What I know is based on Zack Snyder's commercial output, which is NOT worldbuilding. Evil Genius Games as professional RPG and Boardgame makers who clearly do game design and worldbuilding. Netflix has a history of taking IP as cheaply as they can. And the truth is somewhere between all of these pieces. My sympathy is for the little guy, and that is Evil Genius Games. If Zack is such a standup guy, he could and should broker a settlement between Netflix and Evil Genius Games. I doubt that Evil genius is trying to take his IP. They likely want to be paid for their work. Zack Snyder could help defuse this, if he hasn't been told to sit on the sidelines by Netflix legal.
It is also worth stating that Evil genius Games is a black owned game publisher. Zack Snyder wants to foster diversity? Great, don't just hire that diverse team, ensure that their product gets to market and that they can make money along side Zack Snyder and Netflix. Evil Genius Games likely just wants the opportunity to sit at the table. is that so wrong?
News Sources:
Hollywood Reporter: "Netflix Sued Over ‘Rebel Moon’ by Game Maker That Claims Its World-Building Was Used in Movie. Evil Genius Games filed a lawsuit against the streaming giant over a tabletop game it created for Zack Snyder's space opera, which will allegedly incorporate ideas from the game maker."
"“Alien races and planets were not named or described, royal characters and their lineages were missing, and there was no clear storyline for how the Rebel Moon universe originated,” states the lawsuit. “Netflix did not even deliver Plaintiff any official Rebel Moon trademarks or logos.”
The game maker subsequently supplied “all the missing pieces and created a cohesive backstory” for the franchise in a “World Bible,” which it handed over to Netflix. Where the script introduced a character as “Alien 1,” for example, the company created its name, age and origin, among other things.
Snyder and multiple Netflix executives were “so enamored with the 228-page World Bible” that they indicated “substantial elements of it” would be incorporated into the franchise, including the film. The game was finished in May."
Deadline: "Netflix Sued Over Axing Of ‘Rebel Moon’ Game Contract"
"Before everything went south on this arrangement, Evil Genius claims it did its job and delivered a 228-page World Bible that expanded on Snyder’s vision for the Rebel Moon universe. The company also asserts they handed over a 430-page Player’s Guide, and a 337-page Game Master’s Guide."
Variety: "Netflix Sued Over Canceled Game Deal for Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’ Movies"
“Our aim is to ensure our team is recognized for their fantastic work, and that we can release this game for millions of [tabletop RPG] enthusiasts to enjoy,” Evil Genius CEO David Scott said in a statement. “It’s disheartening to see Netflix backpedal on content that was jointly showcased and had received their prior consent. We urge our supporters to contact Netflix and Zack Snyder to push for the release of this game.”
According to its lawsuit, Evil Genius halted other projects to focus on the “Rebel Moon” game. By May, Evil Genius said, it had produced a 228-page World Bible (which vastly expanded on the universe envisioned by Snyder), a 430-page Player’s Guide and a 337-page Game Master’s Guide. According to the lawsuit, the initial script for “Rebel Moon” was “missing background information vital to the story as a whole and to the world,” and Evil Genius filled in “all the missing pieces” along with “a cohesive backstory for the entire Rebel Moon franchise.
Two weeks later, Netflix notified Evil Genius that all of its work on the project “belongs solely and exclusively to Netflix,” according to the lawsuit. “It became clear that Netflix was simply using the alleged breach and termination to hijack [Evil Genius’] intellectual property and prevent [Evil Genius] from releasing the game,” the suit says.
Evil Genius Games, a Black-owned game publisher, was founded in 2021. Its flagship product is the D&D-based Everyday Heroes, which it describes as “the ultimate modern-day gaming platform.” The company sells games based on movies including “The Crow,” “Escape From New York,” “Highlander,” “Kong: Skull Island,” “Total Recall,” “Rambo,” “Pacific Rim” and “Universal Soldier.””
Team Builder, Problem Solver
6moI need 10 movies of this. This is the next Star Wars and Zack (GOAT) will make it great for all time.
Co-CEO, Co-founder, Creative Director of GlassFrog Productions
9moInteresting
CEO & Founder at Symbol Zero // Microsoft Regional Director
9moReference: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/gamemaker-accuses-netflix-stealing-ideas-rebel-moon-franchise-1235603686/ https://deadline.com/2023/09/netflix-lawsuit-rebel-moon-game-contract-evil-genius-1235559319/ https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/netflix-lawsuit-game-deal-zack-snyder-rebel-moon-1235738881/
CEO & Founder at Symbol Zero // Microsoft Regional Director
9moEvil Genius Games https://evilgeniusgames.com/about-us/
Head of Production, Oculus Publishing
9moWorld building will become more and more critical as IPs become the driving forces behind transmedia offerings. I really hope Netflix makes good on this because this kind of action will impact this kind of work tremendously.